Notes to the data

General data sources
Definition of 'real estate development'
The 2008 compilation and analysis of real estate developments
Assumptions made in collecting the data
Country key performance indicators

General data sources

The data on Reveal Real Estate draws from three main sources:

1. A compilation and analysis of real estate developments carried out in 2008 and updated in 2009


2. Databases such as those maintained by the IMF, Heritage Foundation, World Travel and Tourism Council; and


3. Consultations with an expert group of legal firms, realtors and title insurance experts operating in Central America.

Definition of 'real estate development'

Real estate developments include residential communities, private gated communities, off-plan developments, apartment blocks, condominium projects and resort communities currently active in Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica or Belize.   The terms 'development' or 'project' are used as a short hand. 

The vast majority of the developments in our database target the international buyer seeking a second home investment or lifestyle buy.  Some of the projects are in a pre-construction phase while others are well advanced in the roll out of their master plan.  Most of the developments in our sample have a dedicated website.

The compilation and analysis of real estate developments

Our initial work to compile the Reveal Real Estate

database was conducted July-September 2008 and then updated July-September 2009.  The database continues to be added to and sample sizes can be found by running queries on our Find page. The data is collected from publically available information provided either online, via email, in hardcopy brochures/flyers or via telephone.  The results represent a snap-shot in time.  It is important to note that pricing and master plan information is subject to change by the developer at any time without notice.

There is information about adding a real estate development to the database on the Owners and Developers page.

Assumptions made in collecting the data on real estate developments

List prices – The prices collated by Reveal Real Estate are list prices and not selling prices.  The two can be different.  For developments with sold inventory, the median is calculated on the properties remaining for sale.  All prices are in US$.

Sales direct from developer – Our analysis has mainly focused on developments with real estate for sale direct from the developer/owner.  A few re-sale properties have been included where this information has been made available. In future iterations we plan to include more re-sale properties in developments that are sold-out or close to being sold out.

Square feet – Assumed to be the total sqft. of the property encompassing all private space both interior and exterior.

Finished/unfurnished - If prices are provided for both unfurnished and furnished residences, we have chosen the unfurnished price.  

Houses - refers to single family, detached dwellings.

Condos – Shorthand for “condominiums” referring to multi-unit, attached dwellings including apartments, flats duplexes, triplexes, townhomes etc.  In a few cases small detached units (e.g “casitas” or “bungalows”) are included in the condo category.

Lots – refers to home-sites “serviced” at a minimum with water, electricity and road access. 

Beach/ocean front – Refers to property with a direct frontage onto the ocean or beach.  The property can be elevated on a cliff or bluff.

Ocean view – This comprises both close ocean view and longer ocean views with the sea at a distance.  

Golf view – This includes property that fronts directly onto a golf course (fairway or green) as well as property that has a view of a golf course from a distance.

Water views – Refers to any fresh water body such as a lake, canal, river or lagoon.  Canals which open to the ocean and have brackish water are also included.  Views of a swimming pool are not included.

Tropical or Green view – This includes any type of “countryside” view including mountain, valley, forest or pastureland.

Urban view – This includes any property in a built-up area (small towns are included) that has views of other buildings.  An urban view may also include a swimming pool or small garden in addition to other buildings.  Urban view property does not have a view of the ocean, golf course, lake, river, lagoon, canal or countryside. 

Multiple views – If a property has, say, a view of both ocean and golf or has golf and green views or water views and green views, we have cataloged in order of what is considered generally more sought after.  This results in an ordering of beach/ocean front, then close ocean views, then golf, then long ocean views, then water views and then green views.

Golf courses and surf breaks - Surf breaks highlighted on our maps may not be accessible by land or boat year round.  For golf courses, we have not reviewed the specifics of membership or access requirements at the different courses.  Some golf courses may not be accessible to the public.

Traveling time to international airport – Our estimate is based on traveling time to the nearest international airport in the same country where the real estate development is located.  Apart from island property where a flight or water taxi is required, the travel time to international airport refers to the driving time. Our data is an estimate only and travel times can vary greatly with road conditions. (Island properties have been excluded from any travel time charts or analysis)

Paved/unpaved roads – For island properties, where a flight or water taxi is required, this information is not relevant.  Please also note that road conditions change frequently.

Median use and definition – All “averages” are calculated as medians rather than as means or modes.  A median separates the higher half of a sample from the lower half.  A median value is less affected by the presence of outlier values than a mean.

Town with amenities – A town is considered to have amenities if it has a good sized grocery store and a hotel with more than 10 rooms.  We have marked the closest “towns with amenities”  to the real estate developments we have cataloged and estimated the travel time.

Social and environmental policy – Only developments with publically available information setting out active steps taken (or integral to master plan design) against our five criteria on environmental and social responsibly have been included.  Developments with a general environmental slogan (e.g. “eco-friendly”, “earth-friendly”, “eco-luxury”) but which do not provide additional evidence of social and environmental action steps taken or planned have not been included.  Our five social and environmental responsibility criteria include:

1. Biodiversity (for example re-forestation project; large dedicated green areas that will not be developed, accreditation as a private reserve)


2. Energy management (use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, thermal energy)


3. Green building (eco-friendly architectural design such as solar chimneys, natural ventilation, thermal exchange, roof overhands, water catchment systems and green building materials such as FSC certified wood products, recycled materials, straw bale)


4. Water and waste management (for example water catchment systems, grey water recycling)


5. Social responsibility and giving back (support for local charities and community groups; use of local suppliers of goods and services and local employment schemes)

Financing - Only developments with a publically visible program with a local bank or that offer comprehensive developer financing are noted as having a formal financing program.  Developers may offer payment plans to buyers on a selective basis, or payments for a pre-construction property may be phased in line with the construction process.  Neither of these constitute a formal financing program according to our 2008 analysis.

Calculating 'averages' - The data for individual real estate developments is calculated as a median in order to present the 'middle' value .  When presenting trends over time, an average (or mean) of the individual median values is used.

Country key performance indicators

General indicators
Online buzz
Tourism
Development and freedoms
Attractions
Property investing
Living and working
Security

General indicators

• Population (2007) – From International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008.


• Land surface area  (sq kilometers) – From CIA World Factbook.


• GDP (PPP US$ per capita), 2009 – From International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2009.


• GDP real growth rate (2008 est. percent) – From CIA World Factbook: This entry gives GDP growth on an annual basis adjusted for inflation and expressed as a percent.

Online Buzz

• Authority bloggers (Sept. 2008) - The number of real estate blogs per country according to Technorati, a major blog search engine (September 2008).  The result provides a proxy for the level of online interest and analysis on the real estate market in question.


• Average monthly searches for “[country] real estate” on the Google network (12 months to Sept.2008) -  The number of search queries matching the keyword phrase that were performed on the Google network.  Results from Google Keyword Tool (phrase match).


• Search results (Sept. 2008, thousands) - The number of search results (websites, pages, sub-domains) generated for "[country] real estate" (google.com, September 2008).


• Advertiser competition on the Google network for "[country] real estate" (Sept. 2008) - The number of advertisers worldwide bidding on each keyword relative to all keywords (exact phrase match) across Google. The score is out of 10 with 1 being low competition for the keyword from the Google Keyword Tool.

Tourism

• Panama and Costa Rica figures from UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2009 edition via Wikipedia, Nicaragua data from INTUR (Nicaragua's National Toursit Board) and Belize from the Belize Tourism Board.


• Estimate Travel and Tourism Economy 5 year growth - From World Travel and Tourism Council estimate of average annualized gains of Travel and Tourism Economy 2009 to 2018.


• Contribution of Travel and Tourism Industry to GDP (est. 2008) - From World Travel and Tourism Council (estimate 2008).


• Contribution of Travel and Tourism Economy to GDP (est. 2008) - From World Travel and Tourism Council (estimate 2008).

Development and Freedoms

• Index of Economic Freedom 2008 – Sourced from Heritage Foundation / Wall Street Journal - the Index ranks countries across 10 freedoms such as trade freedom, business freedom, investment freedom, and property rights. The higher the score the higher the economic freedoms.


• 2007 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) -  Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2007 according to "the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians."  Marked out of 10 where 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).


• FDI inward flows 2007 (US$, millions) - Source: World Investment Report 2008 and UNCTAD databases.


• Human Development Index (HDI) - Source: Published in UNDP's Human Development Report 2007/8 on the basis of 2005 data.  Considered a measure of "human development" based on life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment and GDP per capita.  The closer the score is to 1.0 the higher the "human development".

Attractions

• Luxury hotel brands – The number of hotels listed in the fivestaralliance.com hotel directory (September 2008).


• Completed (planned) golf courses - Research by Reveal Real Estate (September 2008).


• UNESCO World Heritage Sites – The number of sites forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.  UNESCO World Heritage List (September 2008).


• UNESCO Biosphere Reserves – The number of sites recognized under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program which demonstrate approaches to conservation and sustainable development. UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory (September 2008).

Property investing

• Days it takes to register a property - The Doing Business project, The World Bank Group (2008).


• Costs incurred for property registration (% property value) - The Doing Business project, The World Bank Group (2008).


• Number of procedures to register a property - The Doing Business project, The World Bank Group (2008).


• Construction permits (days it takes to obtain permits) - Time in days to obtaining necessary licenses and permits to build a warehouse, completing required notifications and inspections, and obtaining utility connections. The Doing Business project, The World Bank Group (2008).

Living and working

• Days it takes to start a business  - Research by Heritage Foundation.  The world average is 43 days.


• Cost of living index (equivalent value of US$1,000) – The figure shows equivalent purchasing power of US$1000 based on implied PPP conversion rate 2008 (International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008) and exchange rates September 2008 (online currency converter).  The theory behind PPP is that exchange rates should adjust to equalize the price of a basket of goods and services around the world.  The data shows that US1,000 goes further in Nicaragua, Belize, Costa Rica and Panama than it does in the US.


• Gross annual minimum wage levels - Different international and national sources collated by wikipedia.org -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_country.


• Income requirement for residency status (US$ per month) - Research by Reveal Real Estate drawing on national sources (September 2008).

Security

• Homicides per 100,000 (2005) – Different international and national sources collated by wikipedia.org - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homicide_rate.


• Total expenditure on health as % of GDP (2005) – From WHOSIS, the World Health Organization Statistical Information System (2008).


• Hospital beds per 10,000 population (2005 or 2006) – From WHOSIS, the World Health Organization Statistical Information System (2008).


• Deportees received per 100,000 citizens (2005) - Deportees from US received per 100,000 citizens in receiving country (2005).  US Homeland Security Data published in United Nations 2007 report 'Crime and Development in Central America'.

Disclaimer

• Reveal Real Estate reserves the right to change its policies at any time and to refuse or remove any listing for any reason.


• It is important to note that pricing and master plan information is subject to change by the developer at any time without notice.


• Information on property purchasing, residency, retirement and other aspects of real estate investing can change frequently.  We do our best to keep this information as current as possible; however we recommend that visitors and investors check with their embassy or attorney before their departure and before investing in real estate.


• We have made efforts to ensure that the location of our google map markers for real estate developments, amenities and points of interest are as accurate as possible. However, please do not rely on the information provided for navigation purposes and seek additional information on location before making an investment decision.  We have plotted the map marker information using google.com's satellite view.  This may not always correspond to the map view information provided by google maps.  For example a surf break may appear to be on land when looking at the map in map view, but may appear on the ocean when looking at the map in satellite view.


• Our travel time information (for example distance to a golf course, international airport or town with amenity) is an estimate and should be treated as such.  In addition, the status of paved/unpaved roads can change frequently.  This information should not be relied upon in planning your trip. Travel times can vary greatly with road conditions.


• Please review our site Terms of Use.